Chapter 197
Chapter Title: Provocations
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197
“How arrogant!”
“Does he think he’s all that just because he deciphered Lady Luna’s magic, something no one else could?”
The Seirun students scowled, glaring at Leo.
The Lumerne students, on the other hand, looked triumphant.
Amidst it all, Idin grinned.
“Such remarkable confidence, Leo Flove! But Seirun has long been a wall for Lumerne. Are you sure of yourself?”
“Things will be very different starting this year.”
“So confident, are we? The next student council president of Lumerne.”
Rienia strode toward Leo, her heels clicking against the floor.
“Does that mean Lumerne will be different this year because of you?”
“Yes.”
Rienia licked her upper lip.
“It’s always so much more rewarding to crush such a confident opponent.”
At Rienia’s smirk, the third and fourth-year Lumerne students shuddered.
Rienia.
As Seirun’s student council president, she had been hailed as the top hero cadet for the past five years.
Her skills and achievements were comparable to Lumerne’s own Lis.
But that alone wasn't enough to make the upperclassmen tremble.
The reason they shuddered at the sight of her was due to her particular nature.
Her nickname was the Hunter.
She possessed a relentless tenacity, never failing to take down any target she set her sights on.
And beneath her innocent appearance, she hid a sadistic tendency to thoroughly trample her opponents.
For the third and fourth-years who had experienced this side of her time and again during the Lumerne-Seirun Match, Rienia was the very definition of terror.
It wasn't just the Lumerne students who flinched at her reaction.
The Seirun students flinched as well.
She had the charisma to command even the arrogant and haughty students of Seirun.
More than a few who had defied her after she became president had been utterly crushed.
Standing before Leo, Rienia’s golden eyes sparkled as she reached out and gently took his chin in her hand.
“Restoring the Founder’s magic, conquering the Founder’s world… you’re worth defeating. Hehe, don’t come crying to this big sister after I’m done with you. Ah, you could even come study at our Seirun. You’re certainly qualified to enter, having restored the Founder’s magic. How about transferring to Seirun while you’re at it? Then you could have that trophy you want so badly, right?”
“I can’t just let that woman be.”
On one side of the party hall, Elena, who had been twisting a strand of hair around her finger as if uninterested, muttered in a chilly voice.
“E-Elena?”
Elena’s pink eyes were radiating a cold light.
“How dare she make a move on Leo.”
“C-Calm down, Elena! If you get involved, it’ll be a disaster!”
“The Seirun president is just joking, right?”
The horrified third-years tried to calm Elena down, but few students could stop the one known as the Queen of Lumerne.
Ignoring her classmates, Elena’s expression hardened as she prepared to approach the pair.
Just then, someone slung an arm around her shoulder.
“My, my, why is our dear junior in such a bad mood again?”
“Torua, senior.”
“Just watch and see what Leo does. He’s the student council president you chose, isn’t he?”
At Torua’s words, Elena glanced over at Leo.
Meanwhile, a similar scene was unfolding among the instructors.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“You crazy bastard! Why are you trying to interfere in student affairs!”
Yura struggled to hold back a wide-eyed, frantic Ren.
Ain sighed, restraining Ren from behind with an arm around his neck while clamping his other hand over his mouth.
Just then, Halind approached.
“Causing a scene again?”
“P-Professor Halind!”
Yura snapped to attention.
Normally, the sight of Halind would have calmed Ren down, but there was no sign of it this time.
Halind looked at Ren and gestured to Ain with his chin.
“Deal with him.”
*Crack—*
Without hesitation, Ain tightened his arm, knocking Ren unconscious.
The surrounding Lumerne professors watched with horrified expressions.
“What should we do with him?”
Yura asked nonchalantly, and Halind replied flatly.
“Take him outside and dump him. A little cold and snow should clear his head.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Ain and Yura went to deposit Ren outside.
While the three instructors demonstrated a truly tear-jerking, deep bond between senior and junior…
Leo smiled, brushing away the hand Rienia had on his chin.
“I appreciate the offer, but I find taking things to be more fun.”
“Oh my. You and I have similar tastes.”
Rienia grinned.
“In that case, you’ll never get to touch the Seirun-Lumerne Match trophy.”
“I’ll just take it and display it somewhere, so I guess I won’t have to touch it.”
Rienia’s expression soured slightly at Leo’s nonchalant tone.
She had spent her entire school life trying to protect the trophy, yet this first-year from Lumerne was treating it like a common stone on the side of the road.
Moreover, the way he countered her every provocation without missing a beat was quite irritating.
‘He’s remarkably composed.’
Slightly peeved, Rienia walked over to the trophy, lifted it, and shook it tauntingly.
“Hmph. You’ll never take this trophy to Lumerne in your lifetime.”
‘President!’
‘Why are you being so childish!’
The Seirun students covered their faces at her childish provocation.
Leo, who had been staring blankly at Rienia, infused mana into the Folium on his left wrist, returning it to its original form.
He then brandished it and asked.
“Seirun doesn’t have one of these, right?”
Rienia flinched at Leo’s equally childish response.
“Ahem! W-Well, now that we’ve heard from our student council presidents, let’s move on to the next event!”
Idin, judging that things would get seriously childish on both sides if left unchecked, hastily changed the subject.
Lunia shook her head as she watched Leo calmly turn the Folium back into a bracelet.
“Our president is childish, but you’re really something else. Are you a kid?”
“You and I are kids, too.”
“Not me. Do you think I’d get worked up over a childish provocation using something someone else doesn’t have?”
Leo looked at the scoffing Lunia and opened his palm.
*Pop—!*
Piora was summoned above it.
Leo gently shook Piora and said.
“You don’t have one of these, do you?”
At his words, Lunia’s shoulders trembled.
Had they not been at a party, she might have grabbed Leo by the collar right then and there.
Leo smirked as he watched Lunia clench her fists and grind her teeth.
“It’s super effective.”
“You! Just wait for the Seirun-Lumerne Match! I’ll crush you into a pulp!”
The incensed Lunia spun around and left.
She grabbed the wrist of Eiran, who had been approaching Leo, and dragged her away.
“L-Lady Lunia?!”
“Eiran! That guy is the enemy! The enemy! Stay away from him!”
“That can’t be…! Sir Leo!”
Eiran, on the verge of tears, called out desperately to Leo.
Leo waved to the two of them.
“Whoa! Leo! That was a perfect provocation!”
“Yeah! You won the initial skirmish!”
Karl and Dade approached with grins.
“It’d be best if you don’t stay too close to me during the first-year match.”
“Huh?”
“Why?”
“Because I think Lunia’s going to charge at me without thinking.”
At his words, Karl and Dade vividly recalled Lunia grabbing Leo by the collar in a frenzy during the school trip, and they shivered.
***
“Kalian. It seems all of Lumerne’s first-years this year are extraordinary. Truly impressive.”
Late at night.
At the highest point of Seirun.
In the Plaza of Stars, Seirun’s principal, Benit, spoke calmly.
At Benit’s words, Kalian chuckled heartily.
“What have I done to be impressive? It’s all thanks to the hard work of the students and professors.”
Sword Saint Kalian.
Benit, the Founder’s First Star.
The two were heroes who had lived in the same era.
Great figures counted among the most revered heroes of the current age.
And the two of them were comrades who had braved battlefields together.
“So, what did you think, seeing him for yourself?”
Kalian sipped his tea and looked up at the sky.
The highest point of Seirun.
This place, floating in the sky above Seirun by magic, was a location created purely for observing the stars.
Of course, it wasn't a space accessible to just anyone.
Having existed since Seirun’s early days, it was primarily used for important meetings.
And on clear nights, it was a place where one could see an infinite expanse of stars.
Even Kalian found himself in awe every time he came here.
At Kalian’s question, Benit spoke calmly.
“I can see why you and Sir Liven chose him.”
Benit recalled Leo, whom he had seen only briefly earlier.
“He’s the kind of person who can bear the weight of an era. The kind of talent Nerzia would covet.”
Nerzia.
The vice-principal of Seirun, dispatched from Dragonia.
He was more passionate about fostering heroes than anyone else.
A dragon with the ambition to create a great hero with his own hands.
“So Nerzia has his eyes on him.”
Kalian smirked.
But he wasn't overly concerned.
‘It doesn’t matter whether it’s Lumerne or Seirun, as long as it’s a place where Leo Flove can grow.’
It wasn’t the proper attitude for a principal, but Kalian and Benit had lived too long to be hung up on a mere school.
They simply wished for a talent worthy of shouldering the era to be born as a true hero.
“So. What was the reason you wanted to see me like this before the Lumerne-Seirun Match?”
“Lately, the movements of the ‘Hero Hunters’ in the northern regions have been unsettling.”
Kalian’s eyes twitched.
Hero Hunters.
Those who had betrayed the surface world and sided with Tartaros.
Among them were not a few who had inherited the power of the Hero Record.
They were, quite literally, a group created by Tartaros to kill heroes.
“Of course, they don’t dare to encroach upon elven territory, but they are a definite threat.”
“There was no mention of this in your letter, was there?”
Kalian asked, furrowing his brow, and Benit let out a deep sigh.
“I wanted to tell you in person, just in case. Letters or magical communications between Seirun and Lumerne can always be intercepted.”
“I see. So that’s why you requested a hero assembly at Lumerne and summoned our heroes.”
Naturally, Seirun had its own elven heroes.
Yet, they had also requested a hero assembly from Lumerne.
The official reason was a request to keep Tartaros's potential movements in check, but mobilizing Lumerne's heroes as well had seemed a bit excessive.
But now he understood the reason.
“Let the professors and heroes of Lumerne know. It’s unlikely anything will happen, but there’s always a chance.”
The Lumerne-Seirun Match couldn't be canceled.
Suspending the annual event out of concern for Tartaros or the Hero Hunters could cause even greater confusion and anxiety.
Benit believed it was better to gather enough forces to deter any thought of an attack.
Kalian nodded and looked up at the night sky.
Looking at the heavens, from which countless stars seemed about to pour down, Kalian let out a deep sigh.
‘I hope nothing happens.’